Water softener



April 9, 1935.

JZzQuardWh dp Y War-W E. w. WELP WATER SOFTENER Filed April 4, 1952 Patented Apr. 9, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE I Edward W. Welp, Chicago, 11L, aslignor to Graver Tank & Mfg. Corporation, East Chicago, M, a

corporation of Illinois Application April 4, 1932, Serial No. 002,940 r 'i'ciaima' This invention relates to flow-limiting devices,

and has been illustrated as embodied in water softening apparatus. It has been common practice in water-softening to feed acid to a mixing I sump at a rate in'proportion to the flow of untreated water to that sump. In the past it has been possible under certain irregular conditions for the acid to be fed much faster than was desired. This would of course result in an excessof I acid in the treated water, which would obviously which will accommodate the ordinaryflows of acid into the surge tank, and a float operated valve which will shut off the orifice when the acid level in the surge tankis raised above a predetermined point. The orifice is preferably of such size that during a given period it will drain from the surge tank the maximum quantity of ,acidthat can properly be supplied thereto in the same period, so that any flow of acid greater than this normal maximum will close the outlet from the surge tank. However, the level at which closure takes place is preferably enough higher than the minimum level in the surge tank so that a mere momentary excess will have no effect. Means are also provided to drain the surge tank when the abnormal conditions have been'corrected, so that the apparatus can be restored toits normal operating condition. h

with these and various other objects in'view, the invention may consist of certain novel features of construction and operation, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out inthe specification, drawing and claims appended hereto.

Thedrawing is a somewhat diagrammatic sectional viewof the apparatus embodying this in- .vention, many associated parts being 7 omitted for thesake of simplicity.

Although my invention may take many forms, only one has been chosen for illustration. Many of the features shown in the drawingare common in chemical water softener plants. The mixing sump I0 is commonly provided for mixing untreated water with the chemical. The raw water may be'supplied through the pipe I2, under the float control "shown diagrammatically, or any other type of control desired. The pipe I may be provided for supplying acid to the mixing sump.-

The feed of the acid is commonly controlled by a swing pipe l6 or other metering device operated in connectionwith'an acid feed tank It. when the swing pipe is used its upper or inlet end is ordinarily lowered during operation by a cable 20 unwound from a drum 22. The drum 22 may be controlled in a variety of ways, but it'is prefto unwind an amount in definitefproportion to the amount of raw water flowing into the sump.

be closed by this meter every time a given volume 16.

.erably controlled by the flow of water in pipe I2 6 of water passes through the meter, and to provide a solenoid and suitable gearing for turning 'the drum 22 a definite adjustable amount for each closure of the contacts. This control of the drum 22 by the flow of water into the pipe I! is not shown, inasmuchas it is already well known in various forms, and it is not necessary to the illustration of. the more important features of this invention.

Ordinarily the swing pipe I is connected di- 50 rectly to a pipe such as ll which carries the acid to the mixing sump without further control." Under such an arrangement, it isclear that if the cable should break, the swing pipe would drop to the bottom of the tank, with the result thatthe 2.5

entire contents of the acid feed tank would-flow into the mixing. sump. This, of course, would leave an excess of acid in the water that was drawn fromthe sump. The present invention overcomes this difficulty as well as similar difila0 culties due to other causes.

The pipe Ii is connected to apipe 24 in which there may be provided a valve 25. This pipe 24 communicates with the surge tank 28' which in surges) by the maximum fiow through the raw water inlet pipe l2. However, when the conditions of use are such that water never flows from the pipe l2 at a maximum capacity for more than an occasional brief period, the orifice 32 may be made smaller than would be necessary if there were a continual capacity fiow from pipe l2 for the purpose of detecting a less extreme excess feeding of the acid.

iturn communicates with the pipe ll. Located 35 in thisjpipe ll is .a restrictive orifice member 30,

when acid-flows through pipe 24 into the surge tank at a greater rate than it can flowtherefrom so throughthe orifice 22 it will of course raise the levelof acid in the surge tank 28. In order tostop the fiow of acid in the mixing sump I if this excess feed of the acid tothe surge 28 continuesv too long, a float operated valve is provided. in II the diagrammatic representation in the drawing, there is shown the valve 34 which is operated by lever 36, which latter is pivoted at 38 to a support 40. On the far side of the pivot from the -,valve is located a float 42 and there may be also provided a stop 44 for limiting the opening movement of the float 42. The float and valve are preferably arranged so that the valve will be closed only after the level of acid in the surge tank 28 has been raised to a point several inches above its normal level. The reason for this is that through the intermittent movement of the swing pipe l6, and due to surface tension of the acid, as well as due to other normal causes, flow through the swing pipe i6 will be irregular even during its proper operation. Occasionally a small quantity of the acid will flow into the surge tank at a faster rate than it can flow from said tank through the orifice 32. The location of the float in the closing position is preferably Just high enough not to be affected by the greatest of these normal momentary surges and for some purposes even greaterlee=way will be provided to prevent the valve from being shut by any but the more extreme irregularities.

When there has been a' continued excess now to the surge tank I, the float 42 will be raised, clos ing the valve 34 and preventing egress of the acid from the surge tank 23. Since there is then no way for the acid level in the surge tank to be lowered, the apparatus will be held in this position with the valve 34 closed until correction has been made. In the meantime, the water drawn from the mixing sump will be free from acid.

When the cause of the trouble has been corrected, the apparatus again may be put in operation by opening the valve 43 which will permit drainage of the acid from the surge tank '23. When the acid is drained to its normal level, the float 42 will drop, opening the valve 34 so the 7 acid may then flow to the mixing sump in a 'nor mal manner.

The invention may be clarified by a brief description of its operation. During ordinary operation of the water softener the float 42 is in its lower position, holding the valve 34 open so that the acid is fed to the mixing sump at the same rate as if this invention were not used, except that its flow is made more uniform by the orifice .32. However, under such abnormal conditions surges, this could be done by controlling the drain valve 48 or other suitable drain valve automatically in conjunction with the valve 34. Un-

der such circumstances, the drain valve would be arranged to open upon'a very slight surge'of the acid in the surge tank 23, orv it may be arranged to open whenever the valve 34 should close. Under the latter condition it would preferably remain open .until the level of the acid in the surge tank was low enough to cause the valve 34 to open. This automatic drain valve could also be provided with a restrictive orifice, so that if the supply of acid to the surge tank was extremely excessive, the level would continue to rise until the float closed the valve 34, at which time or subsequently thereto, the float could reclose the automatic drain valve. The operation then would be merely that if there were an unusually large but normal surge the restricted drain would release someof the excess acid and prevent operation of the valve 34, but if the cable 20 broke, so that there would be no advantage in preventing operation of the valve 34, then the drain would be insufficient and both it and valve 34 would be closed.

It is to be understood that many other embodiments of the invention, including some in improved form, will be apparent, and in the course of time more will be devised by those skilled in the/art. It is not desired that this invention be.

limited to the details described, for its scope includes all such forms or improvements as come within the spirit of the following claims, construed as broadly as the prior art will permit.

- What is claimed is:

1. Water softening apparatus including a mixing sump and a surge tank connected to empty into said sump, means to feed an apportioned quantity of a chemical into said surge tank,.

means to limit the rate of flow of chemical from said surge tank to said sump, and means controlled by the quantity of chemical in said surge tank for shutting oflf the flow to said sump when the quantity in said'surge tank exceeds a given amount.

2. Water softening apparatus including a mixing sump and a surge tank connected to empty into said sump, means to feed an apportioned quantity of a chemical into said surge tank, means to limit the rate of flow of chemical from said surge tank to said sump, and means normally having no eflectbut effective upon a rise of level of the chemical above a predetermined level in said surge tank for further controlling the flow oi chemical from said surge tank.

3. A flow-limiting device comprising a surge tank having a relatively large capacity inlet, an outlet of smaller capacity, and means to close said outlet if the level of liquid in said surge tank rises above a given point.

4. A flow-limiting device comprising a surge tank having a relatively large capacity inlet, an outlet of smaller capacity, and means to further control the flow through said outlet if the level of liquid in said surge tank rises above a given point.

5. Water softening apparatus including a mixing sump and a surge tank connected to empty into said mixing sump, means to feed an apportioned quantity of a chemical into said surge tank, means to limit the rate of flow of chemical from said surge tank to said sump, and means normally having no effect but eilective upon a rise of level of the chemical above a predetermined level in said surge tank for reducing the flow of chemical from said surge tank.

6. Water softening apparatus including a mixing,container, a surge tank connected to empty into said mixing container, a chemical tank,

means for feeding liquid from said chemical tank to said surge tank including-a pipe having an open intake which is lowered in said chemical tank in accordance with the flow of water to be softened but which by accident may be permitted 7 to drop a substantial distance below the chemical in said chemical tank, and means in said surge the flow from said chemical tank to said surae tank exceeds a predetermined value.

7. Water softening apparatus including a chemical feeding tank of the swing pipe type. in which the swing pipe is normally lowered gradually but may by accident be lowered suddenly, a

I surge tank connected to receive chemical from, said chemical tank under the control of said swing pipe, an outlet from said surse tank to a.

container for the water to be softened, the capac- 

